I covered this cafe a bit in the article about cafes where you can meet animals. But this time, we got an exclusive with the owner of the cafe! Her name is Mika Toriyama. And she has a passion for birds.
We visited her at the main cafe of the 2 “Tori no Iru” Cafes in Kiba. It’s a small cafe in a place that is not really known for anything in particular, but when you come upon Toriyama’s cafe, you know you are at the right place because there is usually a long line of people waiting for their chance to experience her cafe.
*The below interview has been translated from Japanese.
Why did you decide to start such a unique cafe?
Toriyama: I started caring for owls as a hobby. I couldn’t stop and their numbers multiplied. I saw the recent trend of cat cafes and decided, “Let’s make an owl cafe!”
How many birds do you have here?
Toriyama: 5 birds and about 20 owls.
Where are the birds raised?
Toriyama: I raise them here. (They are also for sale for interested parties)
How much is an owl?
Toriyama: 150,000-400,000 yen.
When is the best time to stop by the cafe?
Toriyama: All year-round is good. In late spring and the early summer is when the babies are out. You can even interact with some of the baby owls.
What do you recommend ordering?
Toriyama: the cheese cake and the coffee jelly ( the jelly is shaped like an owl, and the cheesecake is made to look like one of our birds).
Do you come across any difficulties running the cafe?
Toriyama: Not in particular.
Do you have a lot of foreign customers come here?
Toriyama: Yes, quite a lot. They mostly come through word of mouth and because of SNS sites.
Do you have things set-up for your foreign customers?
Toriyama: We have the menu and a simple explanation of the store written out in English. I would like to also introduce the owls with descriptions in English (I cannot speak English that well, so it seems like it will be a bit hard to write).
There is even a little gift corner for all the bird fanatics who want to purchase a little souvenir!
(I made a ghetto video showing you the owls below)
INFORMATION
Tori Cafe
http://www9.ocn.ne.jp/~toricafe/
Drinks start from 600 yen (You have to pay 500 yen to go into the bird room and pet the owls)
Closed Wednesdays (only Kiba location is closed, Asakusa is open everyday)
Other Weekdays: 13:00-20:00 pm
Weekends/Holidays: 11:00-20:00pm
2 locations:
Kiba
1 minute walk from Kiba Station
Edo-ku Kiba 2-6-7 Seven Star Mansion 1st Flr.
〒135-0042 東京都江東区木場2-6-7 セブンスターマンション1F
Asakusa
5 minute walk from Asakusa Station
Taito-ku Asakusa 1-12-8 Oyama Building B1 Flr.
東京都台東区浅草1-12-8 大山ビルB1F
